Monday, 14 October 2013 00:00
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The newly-appointed UNHCR Representative in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, M. Golam Abbas, presented his Letter of Credentials to Minister for External Affairs Professor G.L Peiris on Friday.
Abbas, a Bangladeshi national, has worked with the UN Refugee Agency since 1987 in a number of countries including Bangladesh, Thailand, Uganda, Liberia, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Iran, Jordan, Somalia and Sudan, as well as at UNHCR Regional Representation in Central Europe in Hungary and Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Upon assuming office, Abbas said: “I am delighted to be in Sri Lanka, a country rich in culture and natural beauty and look forward to maintaining an effective working relationship with the Government of Sri Lanka, members of the diplomatic community, UN Agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations and all other major stakeholders and interlocutors in the refugee program in Sri Lanka.”
Since 2009, UNHCR has assisted over half a million IDPs and refugee returnees in Sri Lanka. The agency also carries out a range of other protection and assistance programs for its persons of concern.
UNHCR’s work in Sri Lanka also includes providing protection and assistance to over 1,400 urban refugees and asylum seekers, helping to determine their status and ways and means to find a sustainable solution.
Abbas arrived in Sri Lanka on 22 September 2013. He will be joined by his wife.
